TWO brothers who normally fit kitchens for a living have been bowled over by their latest commission – the plinth for the Ashes urn to sit on at the home of cricket.

Maurice and Malcolm Hogarth have been tasked with creating a range of furniture for Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, the most special of which will be the plinth.

The brothers, who work in their native Weardale in County Durham, have also made new cabinets for the Bowler’s Bar which will be used to display some of the 10,000 cricket ties collected at the stadium.

And they are just finishing off new oak frames for information boards to be placed in the members' lounge.

Maurice Hogarth said: “This has been a bit different for us, it’s quite an exciting thought that the Ashes will sit on a plinth made by us.”

The plinth has been made from medite MDF and will hold the 15cm tall terracotta urn which the Ashes are held in.

The commission came about after a kitchen fitting the brothers were supposed to do failed to materialise.

Maurice Hogarth, 58, said: “Everything was lined up to fit this kitchen but then the customer pulled out.

“So we went and did a project up at Killhope mining museum instead where we met these two designers who were also working at Lord's.

“They liked our work and took us on board.

“We were a bit annoyed when the kitchen job fell through but it all seems to have worked out pretty well.”

As a result of their work at both Killhope, the North of England Mining Museum in upper Weardale, and Lord's, the brothers are now creating light boxes which will be used to illuminate the wedding dress worn by the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter.

The dress worn by Lady Melissa Percy in her 2013 wedding to Thomas Van Straubenzee will go on display at Alnwick Castle.

But Maurice Hogarth and his 56-year-old brother will still focus mainly on kitchen fittings and furniture at their workshop in the former dining hall behind Wolsingham School and Community College.

The Ashes urn is on permanent display at the museum at Lord's.

England and Australia have competed for the Ashes since 1882, when English journalists described a loss to the Australians at the Oval as the death and cremation of English cricket.

England captain the Honourable Ivo Bligh, vowed to bring the Ashes back and, after winning a game in Melbourne, he was presented with a small perfume bottle reportedly containing the ashes of the bails from the match.